LOW-ENERGY-ELECTRON SCATTERING FROM O-2

Absolute differential cross sections for elastic electron scattering f rom molecular oxygen have been measured at incident electron energies between 1 and 30 eV and over a range of scattering angles between 10 a nd 130 degrees. These results are compared with other measurements and they highlight a substantial degree of discrepancy between the variou s experiments at energies below 10 eV. They also indicate some interes ting behaviour at low energies and forward angles, which appears to be common to a number of other diatomic molecules. The data are also com pared with a recent Schwinger variational calculation, and total elast ic and elastic momentum transfer cross sections, derived from the diff erential measurements, are also presented and compared with a recent R -matrix calculation.